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Volunteers at a home on Anderson Street in Milan help a man organizers with Christmas in Action would only identify as "Carlos" (far left) remove trash from his property from work they performed remodeling his bathroom.
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Ann and Don Esterbrook raised their family in Saline and spent much of their lives giving back to the community. On Saturday, it was their turn to receive.
Fifteen volunteers from Christmas in Action were at their home as part of a program that has promoted neighbors helping neighbors for the last 16 years in Saline and two years in Milan.
"It's harder to receive than it is to give," Ann Esterbrook said as volunteers washed windows and spruced up her yard on State Road in Pittsfield Township. "It's not very easy to think somebody has to do for you."
Esterbrook, who had worked 30 years in food service, retiring from Saline schools in 1999, has spent her retirement giving back to her church, St. Paul United Church of Christ in Saline, as well as St. Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital.
She and her husband have had health problems and haven't been able to tend to their yard since last fall.
"It's just nice to help people who have been givers their whole lives," said Christmas in Action volunteer Jack Winchester, who was serving as house captain at the Esterbrook home, coordinating the cleanup effort.
Winchester, who has been a volunteer with the group since its inception, said he enjoys giving back to the community.
"You can't get any other feeling like this anywhere else," he said.
Christopher West, a 22-year-old Eagle Scout from Saline who was at the Esterbrook home with his family, was also among the volunteers.
"I feel like I want to help out because there are so many people in need and not as fortunate as I am," he said. "And I know they would do the same for me. It's just the right thing to do."
In Milan, Bob Grostick was leading a crew of seven to 10 volunteers at a home on North Street. They planned to prune trees, clean up trash on the property and help out in other ways. Grostick estimated that if the 84-year-old homeowner had to pay for it herself, it would have cost her $2,500.
On Anderson Street in Milan, a homeowner who organizers would only identify as "Carlos" was getting a new bathroom, stove, washer, dryer and bed thanks to Christmas in Action.
"It's what he wanted to make his life better," said Pam Palmieri, organizer of the effort in Milan.
The homeowner, who friends said has been deaf since childhood and cannot speak, had help communicating his needs early on in the process through a congregation member at Vineyard Church in Milan.
Ross Gordon, the house captain for the job, said Carlos had many needs. Among them, he didn't have a stove and was using only a microwave and George Forman grill to cook his food -- food that Gordon said Carlos got weekly from Compassion, a food bank run by Vineyard Church in Milan. Palmieri said he didn't have a bed and was sleeping on a couch.
About 20 people were at his home Saturday, and Gordon estimated that labor and materials would have cost Carlos $11,500 if it weren't for the help from Christmas in Action. Carlos' friends, Arbutus Bickerstaff, said Carlos wouldn't have been able to afford to hire someone to do the work since losing his job last fall. She said his father and brother have been helping him stay afloat financially for the last several months.
Bickerstaff referred her friend to the organization and was on hand Saturday with her boyfriend, Charles Boyd, to help.
"I think it's wonderful -- the organization," she said. "I think it reaches out to people in need of help. It lifts their spirits. It makes them realize there are still good, kind people out there who care about you."
In all, more than 100 volunteers worked on nine homes. Palmieri said rather than it being a one-day blitz, as has been tradition with Christmas in Action, formerly Christmas in April, volunteers planned to return to work on some of the bigger projects. She also said Christmas in Action in Milan would continue taking referrals throughout the year and volunteers would help out when they could.
"We're going to organize ourselves so we're not doing it all on one day. It's difficult on everybody," she said.
Lester Rowe, vice president of Saline's Christmas in Action chapter, has been involved with the organization since it was founded locally by the late Dave Potter in 1992. Now, he said, Potter's son, Tim, has shifted from volunteer to vice president of the organization, continuing his father's legacy.
"After my father passed, I wanted to help more," Potter said from a home on Weber Road in Saline that he was working at, leading a crew of 12 in what was expected to be an eight-hour day.
Rowe said the Saline chapter's major fundraiser is an annual golf outing held in the summer. It also raises money through its Web site www.christmasinactionsaline.com and accepts donations online.
Rowe said board members started organizing this year's effort six months ago and for the last two months have met every Thursday at the Saline Police Department to fine-tune the details.
In addition to volunteers, the organization has received help from area churches, local businesses and skilled labor. The American Legion in Saline and the Milan Area Fire Department both hosted a breakfast Saturday for volunteers to get them energized for the day. Lunch was to be provided at each work site, as well.
Rowe said he has always embraced the idea of community service as it was instilled in him as a youth.
"I think everyone has an opportunity to serve in their community at one point in their lives and should consider helping their neighbors, and that's our theme -- neighbors helping neighbors," he said.
Duane Hayes, a volunteer at a home on Nichols Street in Saline, showed up this year for the first time to help.
"It's the best feeling in the world," he said. "Even when you're doing something, I think we get more of a blessing from it than they do. It's a feeling of happiness."
Editor Michelle Rogers can be reached at 429-7380 or mrogers@heritage.com.
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